Cha-cha hearings to start after budget’s

Congressional hearings for the consideration of various bills and resolutions calling for amendments to the 1987 Constitution will not start until the House of Representatives is able dispose of the 2017 national budget bill.

Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte urged Congress to guarantee swift action on measures proposing a shift to federal system of government, saying that its implementation is a solid guarantee that poverty levels will drastically drop by 2022.

Southern Leyte Rep. Roger Mercado, chairman of the House Committee on Constitutional Reforms, said the House panel is expected to complete its organizational structure soon but hearings on the proposed Charter change measures cannot be held simultaneously with the budget deliberations.

At least two dozen Charter amendment bills and resolutions have been filed, most of them proposing to convene Congress into a Constituent Assembly to consider the proposed changes. (Ben R. Rosario)